Born to a poorpeasant family. Bed-ridden with leprosy while still very young; in later life she first lost the use of her arms and legs, then lost the limbs themselves. Became known for holiness and penance. Had the gift of inedia, subsisting solely on Holy Communion. A church was built next door to her hovel with a special window between the structures so she could attend Mass. Counselor to Queen Adela of France. Legend says that near the time of her death, she was cured of her disease by the intervention of Our Lady.

[The soul is] simple, invisible, incorporeal, not divided into parts like the body, present as a whole in whatever she does. The soul is not in a particular place. As God is everywhere, so the soul is everywhere in the body, more powerfully in heart and brain, as one says that God is in a special way in heaven. – Saint Alphais